Entertainment business boom prompts Sony to raise profit forecast, with gaming and music offsetting hardware cost pressures

Glonghui, February 5th｜Driven by strong demand in its entertainment business, Sony unexpectedly achieved profit growth after a challenging holiday season and raised its full-year performance forecast. The giant now expects full-year operating profit to reach 1.54 trillion yen (approximately $9.8 billion), up from the previous forecast of 1.43 trillion yen. In the quarter ending December, Sony recorded operating profit of 515 billion yen, surpassing analysts’ average expectation of 459.6 billion yen; quarterly sales reached 3.71 trillion yen. Its broad content portfolio offset profit pressures caused by storage chip shortages. Currently, as storage chip prices soar, costs are rising across the entire consumer electronics industry, from digital cameras and smartphones to gaming consoles. Meanwhile, competitor Nintendo’s new Switch 2 console has also brought strong competition, becoming the best-selling gaming device of the year in the key US market. In the hardware sector, the PlayStation 5 manufacturer still faces an uncertain outlook, mainly due to rising memory prices and heavy US tariffs. Sony’s share price has fallen about 30% from its peak in November last year.